Actions
by ThatBlazingLook
Summary: What was suppose to be the perfect evening turned into disaster, leaving nothing but a chaotic aftermath. There was a lot that Toby and Spencer discussed after his reappearance, but that night was not one of them. So what happens when a certain unacknowledged gift resurfaces, leaving no space to avoid the inevitable? One-shot


**This was a little one shot that came to me one day and that's all I'm going to say about it :). Enjoy!**

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Early morning was always a calming time for Spencer. Her parents were usually out to work long before she'd even lifted her head off the pillow. She'd be able to take the time to stroll smoothly through the house before having to rush off to school.

But this day was different, it was Spencer who awoke before the roster crowed in preparation for the day ahead. It was saturday and she was pleased already knowing she would be spending the day with a certain blue eyed man. She was so content she hadn't even gotten her itch for her morning coffee yet. And without a single drop, she headed across town straight away.

She climbed the metal stairs as she thought threw the days plans. Maybe they'd go on a hike and have a picnic or see a movie or do some corny couple thing. It didn't matter really, she was just content with having a minus A day (which was surprising because she would normally not be okay with that). They's made a promise, Toby and her, that they'd but aside all the pressing problems for the day and just be together. It was a hard ship to sell, but Spencer was persistent, giving her best puppy dog impression to sway the nonsupporter. Eventually the war was won with an obvious winner and Spencer was beyond pleased. Spencer had wanted that day not only because they hadn't been able to spend anytime together doing anything pleasant lately, but it was because Spencer was worried. This thing with his mother was pushing Toby in ways he hadn't been before. He was determined, but in a dangerous way, Spencer knew, she'd been there, she just never thought Toby would too. She'd finally convinced him by telling him he was running off a cold case anyway and it wouldn't get any colder if he stopped looking for a day.

Instinctively, after reaching the top of the steps, Spencer knocked on the door, her mind still wondering, awaiting the loft occupant to greet her cheerfully. But there was nothing. Spencer knocked harder. Still, the door remained closed. Suddenly a bad feeling crossed her stomach and she banged louder once again. _Keys._ Right, she had forgotten she had them. She franticly went ripping through the contents of her purse searching for a little metal slab. It was then, as she tore through her bag, that the heavy door finally swung open revealing a yawning shirtless man.

"You know you have a key right?" he said with a smirk.

"I know - ah ha!" she shouted victoriously as she pulled out the tiny key. She looked at it puzzled, "I think I need a key ring."

"Great, now I know what to get you for your birthday."

She gave him a knowing look as she put the key into a secure pocket where she hoped she'd be able to find it again. Then she was able to fully take in the man in front of her. "Why aren't you dressed? Didn't you get my texts?"

"Uh, yeah the five I woke up to a minute ago."

"Toby! I thought we were going to get an early start! Grab some coffee, head to the park -"

"Spence it's 6:30." He said with a laugh, "And besides," he grabbed both of her arms affectionately, pulling her towards him. "I thought we could start things slow," he enunciated the last word, ending it with a kiss, "relax a little." another.

Spencers protests were lost somewhere between his soft lips and his bare abdomen. "Fine." she said, the corners of her mouth turning up. This time she leaned in for another embrace before pulling away slightly, "But I still would like some coffee."

"I'm your guy." The space between them grew as Toby made his way to the back counter where an old worn out coffee machine laid.

Spencer looked at it questioningly "For those days you're too lazy to walk downstairs?"

"Well _this_ coffee joint doesn't open until seven, so unless you want to wait..." He mused.

"Fair enough." She threw up her hands before switching her train of thought. "Oh! I almost forgot, Aria wanted me to ask if she could borrow some of your horror movies, it's for her date with Jake tomorrow night."

"Jake?" Toby said as he pushed each button the machine had with a puzzled expression.

"Yeah I don't know." Spencer said nonplussed with a shrug.

"Uh - yeah sure, they should be in there somewhere," he voiced, pointing at the cabinet underneath the television.

Spencer stride across the living room and squat down before opening the door to get primal view of its contents, a few movies that were anything but scary, old magazines, television wires, nothing she wanted. She dug deeper, plunging past an old CD player and its matching pile of disks, when she froze. She saw the glint of a metal plate shine in the background, light etching reflecting off the surface. With a sense of familiarity, Spencer moved the contents around it, giving her space to pull out this unplanned surprise. When she managed to yank it out and she felt an unwarranted ache creep into her chest as she glanced at the roof of it.

_Goofball. Glyceraldahyde. I Love You._

She pivoted slightly, still holding the massive board in her hand, towards the kitchen. Still fiddling with the coffee machine on the counter, Toby was blissfully ignorant of his girlfriends new discovery. "You'd think someone who lives above a coffee place would have a clue what he was doing." He said, still preoccupied with the dang thing. "Hey Spence I could use of some of your expertise…" He'd finally looked up and caught the bemused look across Spencer's face and her arms contents. His face immediately darkened. Their eyes locked. Nothing was said for many moments. The domestic peace that had engulfed them just before had fallen into that of a broken home. They hadn't talked much about that day, they'd danced around it, discussing when and why and what he had done but never that specific day. Never the anniversary that would now forever be held in hollows.

After a longer silence than either would have liked, Toby spoke, clearing his throat as his voice came out horse. "I ah - I couldn't leave it out…".  
Spencer's brows bent and she broke their gaze and stared downward, tracing the outline of the pieces with her finger. "You can…" He began, clearing his throat once more, "you can take it back if you - if you want..." Her eyes darted to his again. Then back at the scrabble board. They leaked despondence as one corner of her mouth peeked upward.

"I'd had this planed for weeks." She spoke distantly. "I had the whole night planned, the candle light dinner, the homemade lasagna, the surprise…"

He'd remembered. He remembered the sight he came home to after circling what seemed like all of Pennsylvania for what felt like days trying to beat the betrayed look on Spencer's face from his memory. He opened his door with frustration, slamming it even harder on the other side. That's when he was unpleasantly greeted by a short hooded figure treating herself to the dinner for two so eloquently set up at his kitchen table.

_"Look who decided to show up." She cooed._

_"Get out." He demanded flatly_

_"What? Not up for any visitors? Should have told that to the girl who came by earlier…"_

_"I said get OUT!" He bellowed, shoving his finger in the direction of the door. Mona's eyes narrowed, her playful expressions gone. _

_"Listen buddy, you don't get to tell me what to do; you take orders from me, remember?" _

_Toby was beyond done, he forcibly opened the door, grabbed Mona's arm and shoved her out into the darkness without another word. Wishing the door __would__ hit her on the way out._

_He ran his hands aggressively over his face throwing his work bag onto the couch before fully taking in his surroundings. He saw the place settings, the melted candles, the half drunk bottle of wine, the cold lasagna with a corner piece missing…._

_He should have just stayed out, he should have just kept driving that damn pick-up until he hit the pacific. He turned away furiously from the setting, unable to think he could control himself from taking that bottle of merlo and chuking it out the window after Mona. But when he turned he was greeted with another unwelcome surprise in the shape of a large wooden square atop his kitchen island. He moved slowly closer to examine it but was stopped short by the card that lay open on top of it. _

_**Toby- **_  
_**For one year and **_  
_**hopefully many more.**_  
_**Rematch. **_  
_**Love, Spencer**_

_He picked up the card gingerly, he could hear Mona snickering as she read it in his head. A hot ball of fury formed in his throat. He looked down at the large board the card had been covering up. _

_**Rematch**_

He took him self back to the present as he caught Spencer shaking her head with an ungenuine chuckle. "Well, I got that."

"Spence -" he said crossing the room to her.

"No," she said, here eyes watering. "I just -" she hung there for a few moments, her mouth open, her head shaking, not able to form the right words.

Toby gingerly removed the gift from her hands with no resistance, as though she was happy to relinquish it's weight. He cradled it and carried it over to a chest he had near the back entrance to his apartment that led down to the brew. He cleared off the books and picture frames that coated it's dusty top and put them aside. He took the board and placed it square in the middle of the chest, making sure the metal plate faced towards the front. They latched eyes again. More words were exchanged without a single one being spoke.

Then, they both turned, Spencer back to the cabinet and Toby back to the kitchen. It seemed they'd come to some nonverbal agreement. Maybe they did need to talk about that night at some point, but for right now, Toby's single act was enough. Through all their talks about everything that had happened over the last few weeks they had both made it blatantly clear the way they felt about each other. That throughout all of this, their love for each other still stood as it did when he had brought her flowers on that very same day she had planned to give him that board. That wasn't the question during those few awkward moments that had just passed. It was the scariness of what that board symbolized. She'd never even had the chance to give it to him, heck, the two of them had never been in the same room with it before. It was this gift that would have meant so much but now held much more significance for a much more terrible reason.

They had both thought about it that night, as they laid restless in bed. Toby, being eaten away by guilt and dejection, wondering how in the world he could hurt someone who he meant so much too. Someone who took the time to make this whole night just because she had spent an entire year being with him.  
And Spencer, tossing and turning filled with resentment and deception, thinking about all the wasted time and phone calls she'd made trying to make him the perfect gift. The time she'd spent cooking and preparing all for someone who lied to her, betrayed her, hurt her in ways she didn't even know yet.

There was no sleep to be had in either of those bedrooms that night.

Time had now since past and their was far more understanding of the situation. But that didn't mean there wasn't still that edge of tension between them. After everything that had happened it was preposterous to think they could just return to those people they were a few weeks prior. But that single act. That act of Toby putting the scrabble board on the side table, was a break of a rope. It wasn't as though he was trying to say 'let's pretend that night never happened' because they couldn't, they couldn't just push the difficult times out of their relationship. No, this action was the opposite. It was him acknowledging it, it was him realizing that there was hurt in Spencer's expression when she saw that he had stowed it away as though hiding a dirty secret. No _that_ was pretending it didn't happen, shoving the evidence so far into the back of the cabinet he hoped it would never be found. Now he was saying 'I know what happened, but we're both here now."

_That_ is the true definition of actions speak louder than words.

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**The beginning shows how I see Spencer and Toby on the lighter sides of this season (ya know, if we ever get to that) and then them dealing with the aftermath of season 3 (which I'm still waiting for them to bring up, come on Marlene) - so aka as things we're not getting in season 4 (I mean I love detective Spoby as much as the next girl but I still need some closure from season 3)**

**Ps: I'm still working in chapter 4 of my other fanfiction. You'll find out why it took so long in the description... :/**


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